Prisoners are a uniquely vulnerable social group and protecting them from oppressive states has given rise to a complex web of standards generated by a variety of international mechanisms and processes.

Protecting Prisoners examines the most detailed and far-reaching set of custodial standards yet devised--those of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT)---and relates them to those of other European and United Nations bodies. The book also examines the reaction of selected Council of Europe member states---Belgium, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Turkey, and the United Kingdom---to the application of those standards in CPT reports. This dual perspective provides a critical insight into the degree to which the development of international human rights law is having a practical impact on the situation of prisoners.